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If Liberal MLA Diana Whalen had her way, you’d be working one less day in February.

“These are the darkest days of winter and people tend to be sick at this time of year and are run down,” says Whalen. “A February holiday would be a positive thing to look forward to.”

Nova Scotia has only five statutory holidays, the fewest of any province, and there are none during the cold winter months between Christmas and Easter.

Whalen wants to make February 18 into a statutory holiday called Joe Howe Day. She says workers in the province could have a much-needed day of rest and celebrate Howe’s influence on Canadian society. Howe fought for freedom of the press and helped bring responsible government to the province.

There’s only one problem – Whalen has put forward her Joe Howe Day bill to the legislature four times in the last three years, but the Progressive Conservative government has yet to bring up the bill for reading or study.

“This deserves a public debate and it’s not a public debate for the premier to say, ‘Everyday is family day,’ ” says Whalen. “Let’s ask some people to study this…let’s properly look at it. With so many Canadians celebrating it now anyway, I think the writing is on the wall.”

Stat holiday necessarily -- but not necessarily a stat holiday

Having a statutory holiday in February has already caught on in four other provinces. Alberta’s been celebrating Family Day on Feb. 18 since 1985. Saskatchewan held Family Day for the first time in 2007, while Ontario and Manitoba celebrated their first February statutory holidays earlier this week [Ontario has Family Day, Manitoba celebrates Louis Riel Day].

NovaNewsNet couldn’t get a hold of Nova Scotia Minister of Environment and Labour Mark Parent or Premier Rodney MacDonald to explain why the government isn’t interested in having a February holiday.
 
NDP MLA Maureen MacDonald says her party is interested in having more statutory holidays in the province – but not necessarily one in February.

“We should think about the number of statutory holidays we have more broadly,” says MacDonald. Though she’d like to see Whalen’s bill go to the Law Amendments Committee for study, MacDonald says labour leaders and workers are more concerned about getting affordable child care in the province than a new holiday.

“This certainly isn’t something that people have been clamouring for,” MacDonald says.

While workers are more concerned about day-to-day issues, they would definitely welcome more statutory holidays, says Nova Scotia Government & General Employees Union President Joan Jessome.

“We recognize that it’s a month that’s in the dead of winter and it would be nice to have a long weekend to spend some time with family,” says Jessome, adding she isn’t sure if the holiday should be called Joe Howe Day.

Holiday as incentive

However, business groups don’t support the idea.

Adding another statutory holiday would put too much economic pressure on small businesses, says Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses Atlantic Vice-President Leanne Hachey.

“Now is probably not the best time to be adding something else to the plate,” Hachey says. She adds that recent legislature committee recommendations to increase the minimum wage by 27 per cent over two years is putting enough pressure on small businesses.

“There’s nothing preventing someone from taking a day off, unpaid…We’re very fortunate small business owners offer very flexible work places because they have to work and raise families, too.”

She argues Nova Scotia has one of the highest levels of worker satisfaction with work-family balance in the country. Hachey says small and medium business owners are already working longer hours in order to pay for higher fuel and transportation costs, and that a February holiday would only punish them more.

“Any time there is a statutory holiday doesn’t necessarily mean the business closes – it means the business owner works instead of someone else,” Hachey says.

But Saskatchewan workers see the February statutory holiday as a welcome break from the drudgery of winter, says Saskatchewan Minister of Advanced Education, Employment & Labour, Rob Norris.

“Because of the economy here, Family Day is a useful recruitment and retension tool,” Norris says. “As the economy grows, it’s important to be mindful that families and communities benefit from that growth.”

Norris says Saskatchewan’s 10 statutory holidays makes the province an attractive place for people to live because it shows workers and families are appreciated on a day-to-day basis. He adds that the holiday costs the provincial economy about $70 million, but businesses make up the money by having more relaxed workers after the holiday.

Diana Whalen says Nova Scotia has a hard time getting young workers and families to move here because there are only five statutory holidays in the province.

“It’s a disincentive for workers to be here, and it’s not competitive with even our closest neighbors. I don’t believe when you improve work conditions that it necessarily signals doom and gloom for the business community.”